Yes, Mr. Bachelor of the Year and grumpy CEO of a billion-dollar company once belonged to me—a charity worker who can barely afford rent. Nia Arthurs never fails to write amazing books with angst and all the feelgood vibes. I won’t spoil it, you’ll have to commit to reading it for that!

Grumpy Romance (Billionaire Dads Book 1) - Anna’s Archive Grumpy Romance (Billionaire Dads Book 1) - Anna’s Archive

I honestly don't know who was more of a spoiled Brat; Kenya or Sasha. Being strong and independent doesn't mean you have to be annoying and rude. Kenya got on my nerves so bad I wanted to throw this book away. Kenya was more mean and rude to Alistair than her step sister who slept with her boyfriend. Although technically The Re-Proposal could be considered a slow burn or a groveling hero book, it didn't really hit the slow burn/groveling hero spot for me. While this book is not part of the seven book _______ Romance series, it is set in the same universe. I loved that because I was not quite yet ready to let go of the Farmhouse Ladies and the men obsessed with their wives.

Customer reviews

I can’t decide what I want either. I plan his death on my off-time. I kiss him senseless in my dreams. Anyway, there's other characters. Sunny, who I loved who basically wanted to fight Kenya's step sister Sasha for her (same). Ezekial, Holland's first assistant who was wonderful, though confusing at times. Belle, Holland's daughter, who doesn't get a ton of time with Kenya in this book, but seemed to love her after one meeting. We get a glimpse of Darrell in a few scenes, and apparently he has his own book with Sunny after this one. I’m still at the first half of this book but I had to take a break because I hate both the main characters. 😂

Grumpy Romance : A Romantic Comedy (Billionaire Dads) Grumpy Romance : A Romantic Comedy (Billionaire Dads)

Anyway, Holland was interesting. It was sort of conveyed that he hired Kenya because of her talent, but his attraction to her was noted just as much. It's also implied that, one of the reasons he didn't fire her after the Baby Box debacle was due to his feelings for her. That coupled with the fact that he partially treated her like crap because he didn't want his feelings to be known... it's the usually kinda shitty guy behavior. Also, it's like the second he decides to accept his feelings for her, a switch flips and he's super cuddly and sweet? Seemed a bit sudden. When you consider that, you realize that he just needed a good ol' slap on the forehead, and their problems would've been 'fixed'. His reason was valid although he could've tried harder to reach her; Ris and her mum didn't need to find it all out the way they did. That was wild considering how valid his reason was. Cody was cute. Definitely not Clay or even Holland but he is the youngest and he acted as such. A spoiled bratty young man who is trying to be in a man’s world. Even if his chiseled jaw, broad chest, and strong hands star in my dreams. Even if he throws his money at my charity and fosters a kid with a heart condition. Even if we end up sharing a bed. But when he slides his fingers down my spine, pulls me possessively closer, and whispers how much he’s missed me, all the reasons why I shouldn’t forgive him start to disappear.In any case I always like MS. Arthur’s ideas of a story, it’s the delivery that is sketchy and needs work. It was so refreshing to get a glimpse of the ladies and their mate and the kids but Clarissa’s mom was the worst. She literally made Clarissa thinks and be as she is…”misery always brings misery”… couldn’t stand her!!! Joel was a sweetheart and Vargas should probably be with Laura, that would be cute. Can I keep my head on my shoulders when the office grump sets his sights on me? And what will happen if news of our forbidden romance gets out? I enjoyed most of this, although I had some issues with part of it. For some reason, I was reminded of Terms and Conditions by Lauren Asher as I was reading this. Probably because, like Iris in that story, Kenya is the assistant to a really demanding jerk of a billionaire boss. He demands her weekends, holds her to really high standards and is unfair to her to keep from letting his true feelings show through. In some ways, I think Holland was better than Declan. Okay, in kind of a lot of ways.

Billionaire Dads; Single Dads Series by Nia Arthurs - Goodreads

The overall tone and dialogue of Grumpy truly did match a romantic comedy and as I was reading, I could absolutely see different scenes playing out in my head as if I was watching a romcom.

He’s powerful, ruthless in the boardroom and lives in a penthouse suite. I’m quiet, awkward, and live in a crumbling apartment. Until one chance meeting with his adorable daughter changes everything. Suddenly, I’m seeing the softer side of Alistair.

Grumpy Romance by Nia Arthurs | The StoryGraph Grumpy Romance by Nia Arthurs | The StoryGraph

The reality is that Ris and Cody were nothing special, but they were still adorable, making them one of my favourite couples. Or maybe I just have a thing for possessive a-holes who obsess over their women and the 'helpless' women who are the centre of their worlds, I haven't figured that out yet. Still, I REALLY enjoyed this book. Maybe I'm a little too easy to please, I don't know. I think that even with the way the story unfolded and whatnot (not those awful disruptions though), their story still made sense to me (because people are weird and complex, common sense isn't common to all, miscommunications happen, and people sometimes choose to keep the lousiest things to themselves, you know). Enjoy fierce, determined heroines and flawed, alpha heroes with kids? Then dive in! Every book in the Billionaire Dads series is BWWM and can be read as a standalone. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and, of course, a guaranteed HEA! One of the things that I really appreciated about this book given the fact that I will be 38 this year (and how I've stayed in certain romantic relationships longer in my 30s versus making smarter choices like I did in my 20s), is how truly proud I am of Kenya for setting boundaries with Holland and her making it clear to him that they are to be partners in their relationship, rather than Holland merely dominating and controlling the relationship. I loved Darrel's brilliance and his wonderfully insightful understanding of Holland and more specifically, the differences between Claire, his sister, and Kenya and what those two women brought/bring to Holland's life in spite of those differences. The dialogue with Darrel being clear with Holland about how Claire and Kenya were different was exactly the kind of insight and conversations that I hope cishet men can get to and engage in regularly.Secondly, Cody didn't grovel much. Buying a few expensive shoes and saying a few cute words a handful of times shouldn't have done it for Ris. The man should've scraped his tongue on a dirt road to declare his love and crawled the Gold Coast to beg for her forgiveness. I'm creeping on the edge of a reading slump so to be able to finish a book at this point is a literal blessing, so Nia Arthurs deserves her stars, although, a little smut would've made this 10X better and would've definitely earned 4 or 4.5 stars from me (I nearly cried when I read that poetic open door scene I got instead).